Chapter No.1
Then I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies gathered together to make war against the rider on the horse and his army. But the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet who had performed the miraculous signs on his behalf. With these signs he had deluded those who had received the mark of the beast and worshiped his image. The two of them were thrown alive into the fiery lake of burning sulfur. The rest of them were killed with the sword that came out of the mouth of the rider on the horse, and all the birds gorged themselves on their flesh.
- Revelation 19:19 -
It's nice to visit exciting new places and people, to see spectacular sights and events, to go where no man, or woman, has gone before and discover strange new civilizations, but it's good to be home. Even better, it's good to sleep in your own bed.
Both Marty and Angie were overcome with emotion when they saw sweet Mother Earth after months on the other side of the galaxy. The human home world hung in space like a refreshing oasis in a vast desert. Earth's blue oceans beckoned those who had been spawned from them. Humans and fish are inexorably drawn to water, and Earth is a planet of water.
Marty preferred beer.
"Welcome home, star travelers." The voice was unmistakably Arthur Wusserman's, civilian head of Space Command.
"Thank you," Angie replied. "Where do you want this boat parked?"
"Relax, Admiral. We'll take care of that."
"Come to a stop, Delphi. Maintenance power only."
"Yes, Angie."
Marty was impressed. "Wow! There are two Space Ports now. I see that Brian made it back okay, but where is the X-3002?"
"Something must have happened," Angie said. "Andriy never returned."
"I'm sure we'll find out soon enough."
Angie stood up to address her crew. "All of you will have to go through security when you disembark. Your medical and biographical data will be downloaded and you will be issued security passes and assigned quarters. Be patient. Some of you may freak out station personnel, but they'll get used to you in time. Oh, and if anyone gives you a hard time, they'll have me to deal with."
When they entered Alpha Station, Angie and Marty were met by Arthur. "Welcome home," he said in a neutral voice. "I've scheduled a debriefing at 0800 tomorrow. That should give us time to go over your preliminary mission report."
"Why didn't Commander Leonenko come back to help us?" Angie asked.
Arthur's face muscles tightened and he looked around to see if anyone was listening. "I'm afraid that Andriy won't be going on any more missions. The X-3002 and the X-2002 were destroyed in a battle with a Dragon armada."
"Any survivors?" Marty asked.
Arthur bowed his head. "We don't know for certain. Some of them may have been captured."
Angie sighed. "Shit."
"That is not good," Marty said. "They could end up in a Dragon butcher shop."
"Look," Arthur said, holding a hand up. "We'll discuss this later. You two go get settled in. Oh, by the way, your quarters have been moved. They're at the end of the corridor now."
"Yes, sir," Marty said, saluting and wondering why they moved his quarters.
On the walk back to the elevators, Marty rubbed an exhausted hand over his face. "It'll be too late. They should send someone out right away."
"They're casualties of this war," Angie said. "Not everyone is as crazy as you."
Marty waved a dismissive hand. "I'm not going to go there."
They found their new larger quarters clean and pristine with some interesting updates: new plumbing fixtures and nicer furniture. For some unexplained reason, the maintenance guys had built a small swimming pool in the common area between their quarters. The pool was enclosed by a transparent wall with doors to their quarters but not to the common area.
"Whose idea was this?" Marty said. "I don't get it. What are they trying to do: make this into a honeymoon resort?"
"Maybe they're giving us a hint," Angie said, teasing him with an ornery grin.
"The only thing that would make sense is if they've issued bathing suits," Marty said.
"Come into my quarters and we'll check."
Marty followed her into a suite that seemed too luxurious for even an officer's quarters. Two couches and an easy chair defined a generous conversation area. A large view screen dominated one wall and art covered the opposing wall. Angie entered her bedroom and opened what she thought was a closet but what turned out to be a room-sized wardrobe.
Marty's eyes ballooned. "Holy hell! Look at all the outfits."
Angie rummaged through the hung clothes and through drawers and cabinets filled with under garments, shoes, nightgowns, robes and shorts, tops and other miscellaneous items.
"No bathing suits here. Display the clothing inventory, please."
"Yes, Admiral."
A long list displayed on a wall-mounted screen. After scrolling through it, Angie smiled at Marty. "Nope."
"Please display the swimming pool rules."
"Yes, Admiral."
"The rules are the same," she said. "No bathing suits are required."
"Why is that?"
"I have no idea," Angie said, sounding annoyed. "What difference does it make?"
"Right now, our big problem is going to be when they find out that we've revealed technology to aliens."
"We'll tell them the truth: we were desperate."
"I hope they accept that explanation," Marty said.
So did she.
***
Arthur appeared confused and worried. He changed his gaze from Marty and Angie at an ever-increasing rate until one or the other of them spoke.
"We've gone over your lengthy mission report, Admiral, and have come to the preliminary conclusion that the Dragon aliens represent an unacceptable threat to us and our allies and that their home world is not in our galaxy. This is also the belief of the Roswell aliens and the Drak female Moto."
"What does that mean?" Angie asked.
"It means that we'll have to send a ship to Andromeda."
"That's 2.5 million light years away," Marty said. "How long will that take?"
"More than twenty-four hours, I believe."
"Ouch," Angie said, symbolically holding her head.
"You'll never feel it because you'll be sedated," Arthur said.
"What can one or two ships do against an enemy more numerous than cockroaches, as Uma puts it?" Marty said.
"We . . . our weapons boys have devised a doomsday weapon, capable of destabilizing a star."
Both of Marty's eyebrows shot up. "Oh my God!"
"What you're proposing is the annihilation of an entire species," Angie said.
"If negotiations do not work, we see no other alternative. These aliens have been eating other intelligent species, including humans, for many millennia. That is unacceptable. That is not my assessment. It is the unanimous vote of the ULGP."
Neither Angie nor Marty chose to argue. On the way back to their quarters they remained quiet. When they entered the common room between their quarters, they were greeted by the entire crew, including the aliens, and all of them clapped.
"What did we do to deserve this?" Marty asked them.
"We heard that you are going to Andromeda," Uma said. "We have all decided to join you."
"We're going to take a doomsday weapon," Angie said. "Are you sure?"
"We don't care," Uma said. "We love you. You are our heroes."
Both Angie and Marty smiled. They hugged every member, telling them that they were glad that they were coming along. All Marty could think of was that it's good to be loved.
***
Angie rested her head on Marty's shoulder and he lovingly caressed her hair.
"We haven't had a moment to ourselves since returning," Angie said before moving her legs up onto the couch and resting her head on his lap.
He looked into her beautiful eyes for several minutes before leaning over to kiss her. "Yes, I agree. We need some time to enjoy each other."
She sat back up and gave him an ornery grin. "I would like to have some fun."
"At my expense, I presume," Marty said, giving her a mock frown.
"Oh, come on now. You love to entertain me. I know you do."
"Maybe I would like to have you entertain me for a change," Marty said.
"What did you have in mind?" she asked, tilting her head.
"How about you doing pushups for me."
She looked at him and then at her hands that she had folded on her lap. "I could use the exercise, but I don't know if it's a good idea for the Admiral to be entertaining her second in command."
"Why not? We're not on duty. Who will know?"
"They may have hidden cameras everywhere," she said.
"So what? What the hell can they do about it?
She stood up. "Yeah, you're right. I'll do it."
She began by unfastening her jacket and removing it. She started unfastening her blouse, but her impromptu strip was interrupted by the omnipotent voice.
"Admiral Sarasota and Commander Sinclair, your presence is requested on the recreation deck."
"Shit," she said. "We can't get a moment of peace around here."
"What the hell do they need us on the recreation deck for?" he said.
"What difference does it make?"
When they got to the recreation deck, they found the entire crew assembled. Arthur motioned for them to come forward while everybody clapped and cheered.
"We are gathered here to honor the bravery that you two have exhibited on the mission to the other side of the galaxy," Arthur said. "Your efforts have ended the Dragon invasion in our galaxy. You, Martin, are being honored for your efforts to save Ms. Bharaiya from the Dragons. You both are being awarded the first Space Command Medal of Valor."
The assembled crew clapped and cheered as Arthur pinned medals on them.
Marty moved up to the podium. "I want to thank Ninja for his unselfish help in my efforts to save Uma. He is the bravest soldier I have ever known."
Arthur moved forward. "He is also being honored. Come up here, Ninja."
Ninja came forward and Arthur pinned a medal on him. "This is for bravery in the face of danger. You are a credit to your species and also to the Space Command for which you serve."
"I am honored to serve Angelina and Martin. They are the bravest people I have ever known. I will follow them to wherever they go."
Everybody clapped and cheered.
"Come up, Uma," Arthur said, waving. "You are being awarded a Medal of Honor for your selfless attempts to aid your fallen comrades in battle and your efforts to save several people from the Dragons." He pinned the medal on her. "You are also being given a Purple Heart for your wounds."
Everybody clapped and cheered as tears streamed down Uma's face. "I would not be here if it had not been for my heroes, Martin and Ninja and my Drak sisters."
Her Drak sisters came up and hugged her amid clapping and cheers.
There was a reception afterwards, which gave everybody a chance to socialize.
Angie found Honey by herself. "I have a question."
"You have questions, I have answers, but I'm not guaranteeing that they match."
Angie chuckled. When she settled down her eyes squinted. "Do you know anything about this new doomsday weapon?"
"I have heard about it, but I am not in the loop. My best guess is that they've come up with a device that can penetrate to the core of a star and create a singularity. That would theoretically cause a severe destabilization of the core and it would implode and blast outer layers of the star away."
"The real question is: how close do we have to get to deliver this weapon and then how far do we have to be away when it does what it's supposed to do?"
"I will do some calculations for you," Honey said. "Perhaps I can answer your questions within a 97% probability."
"You sound like a pointy ear alien I used to see on television," Angie said.
"My ears are not pointy," Honey said. "And, they are on the front of my face."
"They are just perfect the way they are, Honey." Angie hugged her.
"Thank you, Angelina."
***
Angie looked over at Marty, who was sitting on a chair in the common room between their quarters and smiled. "You look bored. How about a fashion show?"
"Fashion show? What are you talking about?"
She got up. "I will be back." She entered her quarters.
After waiting for ten minutes, Marty watched Angie exit her quarters wearing white shorts and halter. She was barefooted and walked with a sway to her caboose.
"I like your outfit," Marty said, grinning from ear to ear.
"I figured that you would," she said, smiling and posing to show her stuff.
"Would you like it better without the top?" she said, teasing him with her eyes.
He held up a hand. "Ah, I . . . I don't think that's wise, Admiral."
Angie reached behind her back to unfasten the halter, but she was interrupted by the request signal.
"Come in," she said, using her all-business voice.
Honey entered with two flat-aliens in tow.
"Hello, heroes," Honey said. "I have two new crew members to introduce you to."
Marty got up to join Angie.
"This is Wendy," Honey said, gesturing to one of them. "And, this is Arby."
"I don't mean to be rude," Marty said. "But, how can we tell them apart. They look just like you."
"I find that a problem for me when I look at humans," Honey said. "However, I have found a very easy way to tell people apart." She pointed to Wendy. "Look at her eyes. They have a slightly bluer shade than mine, and her eye ridge is slightly higher." She pointed at Arby. "Note that his eyes are more yellow in shade and his eye ridge is more prominent."
"Ah, yeah, I see," Marty said. "Thank you."
"You are most welcome, Martin."
"Welcome to our crew," Angie said to the two new flat aliens.
"We are most appreciative to be on your crew," Wendy said.
"I am most humbled to be at your service," Arby said.
"Don't let them kid you. They are happy as larks," Honey said. "When they were shown what miserable conditions exist on our home world and how much they will be loved here, they were ecstatic. This is like paradise to them."
"So, these are from your pupae?" Marty said.
"Yes, Martin. These are my kids, and they are smarter than whips."
"You've been reading too many trashy novels, Honey," Angie said with a smile.
"Honey looked over Angie's outfit and smiled. "We will leave you two lovebirds alone now. These two have much to learn."
Angie and Marty watched them leave.
"I can't imagine what it will be like with three of Honey on the ship," Angie said.
"If they are as smart as Honey, we will be thrice blessed," Marty said.
Marty sat down again and Angie stood with her hands in the elastic band of her shorts. "Maybe I should start with the bottom first."
She pulled her shorts down to just above the danger zone, but she was interrupted by the request signal again. "This place is getting to be busier than Grand Central Station."
Marty laughed. "You're beginning to sound like Honey."
"Come in," Angie said.
It was Ninja this time and he had two Mehens with him, but they didn't look at all like him. They both had more curvaceous figures and what looked like breasts underneath their black leather-like figure-hugging suits.
"My government has given these two females to us," Ninja said. "They are Xin-Xin and Van-Xan. If it is permissible, I will train them."
"Certainly," Angie said. "Welcome to our crew."
"We are honored to serve with the great Ninja," Xin-Xin said.
"We are also honored to serve on your crew," Van-Xan said. "You are great warriors."
"Thank you," Marty said. "We look forward to having you on our crew."
Ninja bowed. "I will leave you to your fun now, Martin and Angelina."
Xin-Xin and Van-Xan bowed and they left.
Marty sat down again and Angie stood before him and reached back behind her back. "I'll try the top again." She unlatched the halter top and held it in place with her hand to tease him, but before she did anything else, the request signal sounded again.
She refastened the top. "What the hell?"
"Come in," Marty said.
Rosie came in with another female Roswell alien. "I apologize for interrupting you, but I want you to meet Xanthin. She is an expert on biological systems and will be joining me on your crew."
"Welcome to our crew," Angie said. "We are honored to have you."
"Thank you," Xanthin said in a child's voice. "I am honored to serve with you."
"I am sorry if I interrupted anything," Rosie said, curling her thin little mouth up in a weak alien smile. "We will leave now. I have much to show Xanthin."
"Goodbye," Marty said.
"If this keeps up, most of our crew will be alien," Marty said.
"If this keeps up, we may as well just give up," Angie said with her brow wrinkled.
Marty laughed.
"Admiral Sarasota, your presence is requested in operations."
"Shit!"
"I would advise changing into your uniform, Admiral," Marty teased her.
She gave him an annoyed look. "No kidding, smart ass."
He laughed again.
***
Angie and Marty looked over the new starship as they rode over to it in a shuttle. It was larger than the X-4001, but still had the same saucer shape. Lights from the docking bay played on its black matte sides, but the light was mostly absorbed, giving it a gray ghost look. The shuttle to the new ship was as a fly to an elephant, and it was impossible to discern the full scope of the starship.
"Boy, if these ships get any larger we'll have to moor them out so far the Earth will look like a marble."
Angie looked at him. "Who cares? We just drive them. I just hope that it can still go through a singularity."
"We'll soon find out," Marty said. "I'm not sure that I like the idea of being sedated for the entire time we're in the singularity."
"I'm sure that Delphi can handle it," Angie said. "She hasn't let us down yet."
The shuttle docked with the starship and after a pressure adjustment, the hatch opened. Once inside, the hatch closed and the shuttle automatically moved away. The path to the command center was marked by moving lights in the floor. The two intrepid space travelers rode the elevator up and emerged onto the command deck.
"Hello, heroes."
Angie's eyes ballooned. "Honey! What the hell are you doing here? I thought that we were supposed to take this big slug out ourselves."
"Honey was added at the last minute, Angie."
"Why, Delphi? She's too valuable to risk on a test flight."
"Honey is not affected by the singularity journey, Angie. She will be able to take over if something should occur."
"I will be okay, Angelina and Martin. Besides, this will be fun. I cannot think of any other two people that I would rather be with."
Angie smiled at Marty and he returned it.
"Okay, Delphi, let's get this show on the road."
"Yes, Angie."
"I've seen that phrase before," Honey said. "However, there are no roads out here."
"Let me ask you something, Honey," Angie said. "Have you checked out this ship?"
"I sure have, and it's quite a vessel. They have all the amenities of the X-4001 and then some. There is a hydroponics chamber that looks like a miniature woods."
"Does it still have a brig?"
"Yes, it does, and the brig has more than one cell. One of the cells has neural sensitizer arrays that are based on Masai's pain stick device. There are also restraining devices and all sorts of punishment gadgets."
"What in the hell is the matter with these engineers?" Marty said. "I don't understand it."
"I believe that they installed these things so that we can torture enemy aliens," Angie said. "I guess that they decided to cover all of the bases."
"I don't like it one bit," Marty said, frowning.
"Don't get your knickers in a twist," Angie said, grinning. "I'm not going to torture you or any other member of the crew."
"I appreciate that, Admiral."
"I like that," Honey said.
"What?" Marty said.
"Don't get your knickers in a twist, but I have no idea what knickers are."
"Actually, I meant to say shorts, or underwear, Honey," Angie said.
"We are clear of the docking bay, Angie."
"Take us up to jump speed, Delphi. We will now inject ourselves with sedatives."
"Yes, Angie."
"Let me do it," Honey said.
"Okay," Angie said. "I never did like the idea of giving myself a shot."
Honey injected both Angie and Marty with Onuki's sedative.
"Oh," Angie moaned. "I think I'm fading out."
"Sleep tight, my love," Marty said.
Honey caressed both of them. "Sleep tight, my heroes. I love you."
The ship was quiet now, except for the gentle hiss of environmental.
"These two humans are the most precious individuals to me, Delphi. I would do anything for them."
"They are precious, Honey. They deserve to be with each other in love."
"I agree, Delphi. You and I must do all that we can to unite them in love."
"I have been given a mandate from Space Command to see to it that they do, Honey."
"It will be fun to do so, Delphi. I look forward to it."
"Jump will commence in five minutes, Honey."
"Do you dream, Delphi?"
"I cannot achieve that function, Honey."
"Neither can I, but these two will dream. I can only hope that they dream of each other."
The deck began to twist and spiral into a tiny speck.
***
"We have entered normal space, Honey."
"Take us down to 5000 kilometers per second, Delphi."
"Yes, Honey.
Honey moved to the astronomical station that George usually occupies to do a quick survey of the Large Magellanic Cloud.
Marty and Angie slowly began to regain consciousness. They both acted groggy and disoriented.
"Where are we, Delphi?"
"We are a light year away from the edge of the Large Magellanic Cloud, Angie. We are 52,100 parsecs from Earth."
"Good morning, Angelina and Martin," Honey greeted them. "I trust that you slept well."
"I don't remember a thing," Marty said. "What's our status?"
"All systems are at full operational mode, Martin."
"There are many interesting objects out here," Honey said. "I can see the Tarantula Nebula and it is so pretty." She transferred the image to the main screen.
"Wow!" Marty said. "Look at all those red stars."
"This galaxy is an astronomical treasure-house," Honey said. "There is much dust and gas, and stars are forming everywhere. But, you must see the Milky Way from here. It is absolutely beautiful." She switched the view to the main screen.
Marty was overwhelmed. "Oh my God! That is fantastic. God, wouldn't George and Karl just love to see what we're seeing."
"We take the risks," Angie said. "And we get the prize."
"We're getting an oblique view of the Milky Way," Marty said. "This is something that no man has ever seen."
"Or woman," Angie added with a smile.
"Or me, whatever I am," Honey said.
"You are a precious jewel," Marty said. "Of all the aliens we've found, you will always be in our hearts."
"If I had stayed on my home world, I would have either been eaten or spent my life packed like a sardine. You two have made it possible for me to be free. I will never forget you."
"I have a question for you, Honey," Marty said. "How do they know how far away these galaxies are?"
"Astronomical distances are determined by two principle methods: parallax and absolute magnitude. Absolute magnitude is the apparent magnitude an object would have if it were at a standard luminosity distance away from us. One method is to find a variable Cepheid. This is a special star that has a period of variability in its luminosity. There is a relationship between this period and the absolute magnitude. Using this, astronomers can determine distance to the Cepheid. That's one of the ways that the distance to Andromeda was determined."
Marty looked at Angie. "Did you understand that?"
"What difference does it make? As long as she and Delphi understand it, we have it made."
"Amen to that."
Angie got up, but she wobbled a bit. "How about taking us on a tour of this new ship, Honey."
"I would be honored," Honey said. "But, I need to tell Delphi something. This galaxy is the location of several super-giant stars, Delphi. These could explode into supernova at any time. Please survey these stars and determine if there is an imminent threat."
"Yes, Honey."
The first place that Honey took them was to their quarters, which were joined by a common room as on the X-4001, but there was a difference.
"I don't believe it," Marty said. "They've added a swimming pool like they did on Space Port Alpha."
"Isn't it neat!" Honey said.
"This is plain weird," Angie said. "There's a large open shower on the back wall."
"The engineers must have a salacious sense of humor," Marty said.
"Or this is Arthur's idea of a practical joke," Angie said.
They entered Angie's quarters and found a spacious office and a sitting area with two couches and two chairs. Her bedroom and bathroom were open to this main room, and the shower was completely visible to anyone in the main room.
"This is nice," Angie said. "But, privacy was not part of the design."
"The X-4001 skipped doors," Marty said. "This ship skips entire walls."
They went to the recreation areas on Deck three and found other weird changes. The swimming pool had a transparent wall and the dressing room and showers were open.
"Whose idea was this?" Marty said.
"I believe I see what's going on here," Honey said. She walked over to the wall. "Come over here."
Marty and Angie followed her over to a control panel similar to the one in the brig.
"I think that this controls the degree of privacy," Honey said.
Angie placed her hand on the biometric handprint scanner and a series of touch controls appeared. When she moved a slider up, the opacity of the transparent wall increased. She adjusted it from completely transparent to completely opaque. Other controls created a virtual wall in front of the dressing rooms and showers.
"Now, that is neat," Marty said. "I'll bet that our quarters and common pool work like that."
Angie gave him a teasing smile. "See, the engineers are not perverts after all."
Marty smiled back. "I wouldn't go that far."
She laughed.
Their next destination was the new more advanced brig. There were three separate cells, and each had a different punishment mode. The first cell was like the original. The second had the neural stimulators and the third had a bar with wrist or ankle restraints attached to it."
"How does that work?" Marty asked.
"I believe that it uses neural stimulators to simulate whipping," Honey said.
"This is nuts," Angie said. "It's nothing more than a torture chamber. I wouldn't put any of my crew in here."
"Except me," Marty quipped.
"Don't say that!"
"Maybe it's not meant for the crew," Marty said.
"Even so," Angie said. "I couldn't use these cells without testing them."
"I'll volunteer," Marty said.
She frowned. "I don't want to hurt you."
"You wouldn't be deliberately hurting me. They told us to thoroughly test this ship, and this is part of the ship."
"We don't have time for that."
"How much time could it take?"
"I'll think about it," Angie said.
***
Marty stared at the main screen and marveled at how this satellite galaxy was so interesting in an astronomical sense. There were all sorts of planetary nebula, globular and open clusters, and a lot of giant and super-giant stars in many spectral classes. Even though the Large Magellanic Cloud had only a tenth as many stars as the Milky Way Galaxy, It still exhibited a lot of diversity in stellar composition.
"I have detected a number of G-class stars," Honey said. "They have potential for harboring habitable planets."
"Pick out one," Marty said. "We'll check it out."
"I choose a yellow-orange main sequence dwarf star that is about 50 light years away."
"Take us to Honey's star, Delphi."
"Yes, Martin."
"Hey, Angie, we're going to jump."
"I'll be there," Angie said on the intercom.
She arrived just in time to hear Delphi say that jump will occur in ten minutes.
"We're going to a G-class star that Honey picked out as a possible habitable planet system."
Angie smiled. "Good. At least we'll be doing something interesting." She paused. "By the way, I think that I'll test the brig without you."
"How are you going to determine what it does by yourself?"
"I'll figure out something," Angie said.
"You're the Admiral, Admiral."
They remained quiet the remaining time to the jump, which went without incident.
"We have entered normal space, Angie."
"Reduce our speed to 5000 kps, Delphi."
"Yes, Angie."
"The star is a G2 spectral class star," Honey said. "It has a diameter 1.4 times that of Sol and 1.3 times its luminosity. Its spectra indicate that it is nearly eight billion years old. There are four inner and five outer planets. The second planet is at 1.1 AU and appears to be a possible habitable planet."
"Take us to the second planet, Delphi."
"Yes, Angie."
"We should arrive there in 20.6 hours," Honey said.
Angie got up. "I think that Martin and I will go walk around the ship some more."
"You two lovebirds go and have fun," Honey said. "I will stay here and survey this solar system for Mr. Taylor."
"Good," Angie said. "Let us know if anything changes."
"I will," Honey said.
Angie and Marty entered one of the two elevators at the back of the command deck. They went down one deck to their quarters.
"I want to see what kind of clothing that they've allotted to me," Angie said.
Marty followed her into her quarters and watched her go directly to her bedroom. When she approached the back wall it disappeared revealing a large wardrobe room. Inside she found all sorts of uniforms, casual and sport clothing, dozens of pairs of shoes, dozens of pajamas and other nightwear, robes, slippers and more underwear than she could ever dream of.
"Wow! They sure are generous with the clothing allotment," Marty said.
"I still don't see any thing that could be called a swimming suit," Angie said.
"Look at all these shorts and halter tops," Marty said, showing her them.
"This doesn't make any sense," Angie said. "What the hell were they thinking?"
"I think that they are trying to make you happy and comfortable," Marty said.
"What would make me happy is that you and I could retire and get married."
"And, live happily ever after," Marty added.
"You know what I mean, wise guy."
"I am with you all the way," Marty said, holding up placating hands. "I am ready to retire now, but they won't allow it."
"Yeah," she said, lowering her eyes. "We're in it for the duration."
Marty followed Angie down to the recreational deck. They checked out the tennis, handball, and basketball courts as well as the running track.
"Boy, they sure didn't spare anything down here," Marty said. "This is much improved over the X-4001."
"They want us to be happy, remember?" Angie quipped.
The hydroponics chamber was located on the next deck down. Taking up nearly the entire deck, the chamber was like a forest with a pond, a stream and a grassy glen. The entire back half of the chamber was planted with fruit trees and vegetable gardens. What amazed the dynamic duo was the fact that all of it was tended to by robotic gardeners in the form of two legged bots with no heads.
"This is beautiful," Marty said. "I like it."
"This will definitely help keep us from getting used to a sterile metal and glass environment," Angie said. "I think that all of the crew should be required to spend time here."
"Good idea."
They went back to the recreation deck and visited the main swimming pool. Angie adjusted the transparent wall so that it was possible to see through it but not make out anything clearly.
"It's the tease setting," Marty said, grinning.
She gave him an amused smile before adjusting the virtual wall of the dressing room so that it was nearly opaque. She entered by walking through the wall.
"That's wild," Marty said. "I wonder how they did that?"
"Who cares," Angie said, walking into a large shower room. When she got under a shower head it activated completely soaking her.
"I guess you were supposed to be unclothed before you did that," Marty said.
"No shit," she said, slicking the water off her hair. "I may as well go test the pool. I want you to go out to the transparent wall and find out how much you can see, and if it's too much, adjust it."
"Yes, Admiral."
He watched her enter the pool and walk around the perimeter. Her body appeared murky and muted, but her shapely shape was perfectly apparent. Observing her for several minutes whetted his desire for a clearer view.
On the command deck, Honey was beginning to make out the planet around the G-5 star. "This planet has an atmosphere, Delphi, but it is hard to determine if there is life on it."
"If it contains oxygen and water, there is a 97% probability that it contains life, Honey."
"Existence of life is a probability, Delphi. Its probability appears to be a product of factors. If the factors are high than the existence of life calculates to a high probability."
"You are correct, Honey. The factors are oxygen concentration, percentage of water, thickness of atmosphere, average temperature, magnetic field strength, stability of the star, luminosity of the star, age of the planet, degree of tectonic activity, and many smaller variables."
"If you consider intelligent life, Delphi, you must use many other more complicated factors that involve primitive forms and evolution."
"Intelligent life can evolve from many diverse primitive forms, Honey. We have seen such life based on simian, bird, rudiment, reptile and insect forms."
"What did my species evolve from, Delphi?"
"You are from a simian-like species that evolved on a planet with a high-G gravity, Honey."
"That would imply that my species is not endemic to their present home world, Delphi."
"You are correct, Honey."
Honey remained quiet. Her brain was at work trying to calculate the probabilities of Delphi's theory.
***
Angie looked over at Honey and smiled. Her favorite flat alien was busy as a bee trying to determine as much of the parameters of the second planet as she could. The one thing that you could say about Honey was that she was a hard worker, and the best part was that she never had to sleep.
"You need a break, Honey," Angie said. "You've been going at it for ten hours straight."
"I don't mind it," Honey said.
"I'd like to test the brig."
"Oh, that will be fun. I've always wondered what it would be like to be punished."
"Oh no, Honey. I can't punish you. You're much too valuable for anything like that. I, on the other hand, am expendable."
"I don't want to hurt you, ma'am," Honey said.
"You sound like Martin. As you may have read in one of your novels, you can't make an omelet without breaking the egg."
Honey's eyes jittered around before she smiled. "Yes, I see."
"Inform us if anything comes up, Delphi."
"Yes, Angie. Have fun."
***
"We are now in a stable orbit, Angie."
"Maintain stealth mode, Delphi."
"Yes, Angie."
"That satellite orbiting the planet is transmitting RF signals," Honey said. "I think that I can capture them."
"I can see many cities and transportation ribbons," Marty said. "I also have picked up a launch facility." He transferred it to the main screen.
"It looks like they employ chemical propulsion methods," Angie said. "They are obviously advanced."
"I have a signal," Honey said, switching it to the main screen.
Marty stood up. "What the hell? Is that a distortion in the signal?"
"I don't think so," Honey said.
"They look human, but what's with the two faces?"
"They have a neck that can swivel like Birdie so that each face can face the front," Honey said.
"That is just plain bizarre," Marty said. "If I didn't know any better, I would think that they are like conjoined twins, except that they have two faces, not two heads."
"I don't think that this is an anomaly," Honey said. "They all appear to have this form. It appears that the two faces are at approximately 60 degrees and have only two ears."
"Any sound with that?" Angie asked.
Honey activated the sound channel and what came out were sounds that resembled Chinese. "I'll have a translation as soon as I can."
"Launch the automatic probes, Delphi."
"Yes, Angie."
"The atmosphere is thicker than ours," Marty said. "The troposphere goes up to 21 kilometers, but the jet streams are not as strong. The air temperature at 3000 meters is -20 C. The oxygen is 19% and the carbon dioxide is only 0.01%."
"How's the translation coming?" Angie asked Honey.
"I am having trouble with the two face thing. They have a dual mode of talking, and it's confusing the translator."
"This planet has no large animal species, just some small birds and rodent types," Mary said. "The oceans have water breathing species and plants."
"This may be another Dragon setup," Angie said. "We'll have to keep an eye out."
"I am keeping two eyes out," Honey said.
"It's just an expression, Honey," Angie said.
"Look at this," Marty said, switching a biometric insect video stream to the main screen.
"Are they dancing?" Angie asked.
Marty turned up the sound. "They must be. They're swaying to the music. It kind of reminds me of a festive Irish dance."
"They dress well," Angie said. "I like the full skirts."
"The men also wear skirts, but they're not full," Marty said.
"Oh, that's cute," Angie said, teasing him with her beautifully devilish eyes.
Honey raised a triumphant hand-mitten. "Eureka, I have it!" She turned to Angie. "One face asks questions, the other answers."
"You mean that the two faces carry on a conversation between themselves?" Marty asked.
"Yes, it's neat."
"Now, that's bizarre," Marty said.
"So, they're really are two separate persons in one body," Angie said.
"But, it's not an accident," Honey said. "This is how their species is constituted. When they talk to one another, the same mode of conversation takes place."
"Are both sexes like that, Honey?" Angie asked.
"Yes, they are."
"Both sexes are bald," Marty said, pointing to an insect probe video feed. "And, they have children."
"I wonder what culture they have," Angie said. "Are they matriarchal like most of the other pseudo-human species we've seen?"
"Their broadcasts show both males and females in official roles," Honey said. "But, I am not an anthropologist like Ferris."
"I have detected a Dragon ship in this system, Angie. It is at a billion kilometers away and traveling at 2000 kilometers per second."
"Retrieve all of our probes, Delphi, and prepare to leave orbit."
"Yes, Angie."
"You're gut feeling was on the mark," Marty told her. "I'll bet that they're coming here to abduct these aliens"
"Not if I have anything to do about it."
"Ah, it may not be wise to engage the enemy with no crew," Marty said.
"It's only one ship. I'd fire one of the new Supernova devices at it, but that would screw up this planet. Besides, I owe Uma. I came mighty close to ordering you not to go rescue her."
"She and I will be eternally grateful that you did not."
"All probes have been retrieved, Angie."
"Take us out of orbit, Delphi. Please bring all weapons on line. Plot an intercept course to the enemy ship at maximum velocity."
"Yes, Angie."
The engines screamed to life and the planet's image rapidly shrunk.
"The enemy ship has changed course to intercept," Marty said. "They know we're coming."
After five minutes, Marty looked up at Angie. "They fired a missile."
"What's its profile?" Angie asked.
"Anti-matter."
"Those dirty bastards! Okay, I'll fix their wagon. Please fire a cookie cutter at the enemy missile, Delphi. Program it to cut the propulsion section away, lock on and turn the missile back to the enemy ship."
"Yes, Angie."
"Oh, you devil you," Marty said, grinning.
After the device fired, Angie turned the ship away. The cookie cutter flew past the enemy missile, slowed to turn, accelerated to catch up, matched velocity, used an energy beam to cut the missile in half, locked onto the warhead with Antigrav, slowed to turn and then accelerated to intercept the enemy ship. A brilliant explosion lit up the Large Magellanic Cloud galaxy. Massive amounts of high energy particles impinged on the X-4002's shields like double magnum buckshot.
"Jesus, I hope that the planet doesn't get fried," Marty said.
"Too late now," Angie said.
"I believe that it will not," Honey said. "The planet has a thick atmosphere with a heavy ozone layer and magnetic field. The explosion was much lower in yield than our devices and far enough away."
"I have detected the launch of a small vessel from a much larger craft, Angie."
"Put it on the main screen, Delphi."
"That looks like an escape pod," Marty said. "The main ship is dead in space."
"What's its course?" Angie asked.
"The planet, but I don't think it has sufficient velocity to reach that destination."
"Take us to the small vessel, Delphi."
"Yes, Angie."
"Are you going to retrieve it?" Marty asked.
"Yeah, why not. However, we don't have time to take it back to the planet and fool around making contact. We'll mess with it after we jump back home."
Neither Marty nor Honey had any objections.
***
The trip back to the Milky Way Galaxy was uneventful. Honey kept watch while Angie and Marty slept, and she spent the time conversing with Delphi. Neither Honey nor Delphi was affected by being twisted through a singularity for hours on end. Only people who dream are affected.
After waking up and getting their senses back to normal, Angie, Marty and Honey went to the Lander hangar to examine the alien pod. Marty looked around for some way to open it. Honey pointed to a flush mounted handle. A pull and a twist opened a hatch. When Marty pressed a button a large section of the nose section swung up revealing a two face alien.
"Aren't you lucky," Angie teased Marty. "It's a female. All you have to do is kiss her and she'll awaken."
"Very funny." He pointed to the wall. "Go get a gurney, Honey. Angie and I will get her out of here."
Angie and Marty extracted the alien from the pod and put her on the gurney that Honey had brought back. They wheeled her to the Med Station where they faced their next challenge.
"We have to undress her," Marty said.
"Here, you sit her up," Angie said. "While I try to figure out how to get this suit off of her."
Angie probed down the back of the rubberized, form-fitting, one-piece suit. She pressed a small button near the top and the garment split in two.
When Marty pulled the two halves away he gasped. "Oh, my! She has three tits."
Angie laughed. "Yeah, but I'll bet she only has one vagina."
"How did something like this evolve?" he said.
"Who cares," Angie said. "Lay her down so that we can look at her innards."
The auto-doctor came to life, scanning the alien and displaying images.
"This is two individuals," Marty said. "It has two hearts, three lungs and two separate brains."
"Yes, but the two brains are connected at a single Cerebellum," Honey said.
Marty snapped on two rubber gloves. "Spread her legs."
After doing as he wished, Angie smiled at him. "Find anything interesting in the business end?"
"Yeah, you're wrong. She has two vaginas. They're lined up vertically"
"Does that mean that the males have two penises?" Honey asked.
Angie laughed. "Now, that would be something."
"She also has two clitorises, Marty said. "And, they're very prominent."
"Onuki says that mine is larger than most women's," Angie said, grinning.
"I didn't need to know that, Angie."
She laughed.
"The auto-doctor indicates that she's got traces of a narcotic compound in her blood," Marty said. "We could try a stimulant to revive her."
"Go ahead. I just hope it doesn't kill her. We're going to catch hell as it is."
"Give her 3 cc of Dimethylxanthine, Honey."
"Okay, Martin."
Five minutes after Honey injected the stimulant, the alien's eyes opened. She looked around and made a noise. Nobody knew if it was a good noise or a bad noise.
Angie put her arm around her. "You are among friends. We will not harm you. Relax."
Her left face turned to Angie. "Who are you? Where am I?"
"We rescued you from your little vessel, which was in danger of being pulled into your star. You are now in our system in another galaxy."
The bright eyes on her left face got brighter. "How is that possible?"
"We will explain all of that later," Angie said. "For now, we want to tend to your needs. For one thing, you need some clothing."
The alien suddenly realized that she was naked and turned her right face to Angie. "I would like some clothing."
Angie found a robe and slippers for her. "This will have to do for now, until I can find some other things." She helped the alien into the robe and showed her how the slippers were worn. "Come and we will show you our vessel."
"This is a space vessel?" her left face asked.
"Yes, it is. We plan to go to a galaxy near the one that we are in now. You are invited to join us on this journey."
"I am fascinated with this," her right face said. "I didn't know that such journeys were possible."
"Don't feel bad," Angie said. "We didn't either."
Amen to that.